Electricity Amendment Bill: Everything You Should Know About the 2020 Update

India is going through some fundamental changes to its infrastructure that should prove to be transformational as the country moves forward and that includes the passing of a bill that could prove to be the catalyst for vastly improving its electricity system.

It is always helpful to keep up to date on the latest changes and developments that could have an impact on your business or personal life and that is why online resources such as lawalways often prove useful.

Changes to the electricity amendment bill are a case in point and with the focus on COVID-19, it is an important piece of legislation that could prove to be very important.

What’s changed?

The Indian government introduced the Electricity Act in 2003 and in April 2020 it announced some proposed amendments to that bill in the form of the Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020.

Designed to incorporate the National Renewable Energy Policy (NREP), it is primarily designed to focus more on using more renewable energy sources to power the country.

It is abundantly clear that the world has to steer away from fossil fuels and even the current generation of renewable energy needs updating with more options available such as hydro.

Greener energy is at the heart of what the amendment to the Electricity Bill is all about.

Better cohesion

Another key driver behind the introduction of the new electricity bill is the need for a more cohesive energy strategy rather than the more fragmented approach that currently exists.

There are various challenges to overcome, such as a lack of investment in the sector at this point in time but when there are two separate policies in operation it is bound to create some decision-making inefficiencies and a noticeable lack of cohesion.

The idea is that instead of relying on two independent policies the new amendment makes it far easier to formulate an integrated approach that pools resources and makes decisions that impact the future supply of energy easier to make, especially when it comes to using greener technology.

More cost-effective

The global pandemic has created severe economic turbulence at a time when the world also has to deal with a growing climate and energy crisis.

Another good reason for welcoming the new amendment introduced in April 2020 is that the energy sector has been given an opportunity to align its thinking and green energy resources, ensuring that there is a scenario where cost-effective tariffs can be achieved.

Another part of the bill to mention would be the use of direct benefit transfer to enable direct subsidy, which is designed to lessen the burden on state governments and minimize cross subsidies in order to make the supply of electricity more economical in the process.

It may well have gone relatively unnoticed as a result of the lockdown measures caused by the global pandemic but the Electricity Amendment Bill is worthy of some headlines when you consider the positive changes it could make to India’s energy infrastructure.